Once upon a time there was a Farm Shop
How it came about.
Before the Foot and Mouth epidemic in 2001 we were content to sell our crop of lambs in the market place. In the previous three years we sold nearly all our lambs to an abattoir in Lamberhurst who supplied French Supermarkets. Like true farmers we grumbled about the poor prices achieved and the penalties given for anything other than the leanest of lambs.
All that came to an abrupt end with the foot and mouth crisis, apart from the burden of severe movement restrictions, we had to succumb to much lower prices, which put the viability of the farm in question.
The idea of selling lamb direct to the consumer was explored, and we converted a former workshop into a small butchery area complete with cold room. Initially we opened only on Fridays and Saturday mornings, selling just lamb and pumpkins and squashes that we had grown on the farm. Low key advertising in the form of local leaflet drops produced a few customers, we also approached restaurants in the vicinity who became keen supporters of local produce.
During the next year we began buying vegetables from two local organic growers, then followed improvements to the shop and conversion of the adjacent workshop to a larger butchery with a new larger cold room.
This then allowed us to sell Pork and Beef from local farmers, together with Chicken and Eggs.
But in January 2011 we announced the closure with this notice in the shop and similar email messsages to our loyal customers:
COURT GARDENS FARM SHOP TO CLOSE
The shop was born in 2001 after the foot and mouth crisis that devastated the market for sheep, after a year or so we were selling our entire lamb crop, in those days 700 plus lambs, directly to the customer, some of whom were local restaurants. In more recent years, due to creaky bones, we have cut down on the number of ewes put to the ram. Meanwhile the shop has flourished, and provided an unexpected bonus of meeting many many interesting people. Apart from winning sausage competitions for three years running, we considered inclusion by Rose Prince in Britain’s top 50 farm shops in the Daily Telegragh a great accolade.
Thank you in particular for all your support and encouragement.
Should you wish to be kept informed of future activities at Court Gardens such as vineyard tours, wine tastings or charity coffee mornings and concerts just drop me an email and I will be pleased to put you on the list. Half lambs and other boxed meats will be available to order along with our Sparkling Wine and other wines.
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The shop closed with a bang, having had the busiest week for several years, we were able to share a glass of wine with a number of customers.